Caregiver accused in child's slaying

Skokie man is held in death of 13-month-old

August 29, 2002|By Shia Kapos, Tribune staff reporter.

A Skokie day-care provider was charged with first-degree murder and held without bond Wednesday in the death of a 13-month-old child in his care.

Gary Lin Graham, 49, of the 3900 block of West Fargo Avenue is accused of suffocating Jordan Elizabeth Bowering on Feb. 5 (the date as published has been corrected here and in a subsequent reference in this text).

FOR THE RECORD - This story contains corrected material, published Aug. 30, 2002.

"He admitted being angry at her for screaming. His nickname for her was `the screamer,'" said Jodee Sargeant, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Sargeant said the toddler was in the basement that day when she threw cereal at Graham.

"He put one hand behind the baby's head and placed the other hand over the baby's nose and mouth. ... He left it there for some period of time and then threw the baby into a portable crib," she said, adding Graham left the room for a few hours and returned to find Jordan unresponsive.

Police said the Grahams made a 911 call to the Skokie Fire Department on the afternoon of Feb. 5 to report a child had stopped breathing. Jordan was taken to Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, where she was pronounced dead.

In March, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Jordan's death a homicide.

Graham and his wife, Dianna, initially were charged with running a day-care center with more than three children, the limit for unlicensed home day-care operations. At the time, officials said the Grahams had five children in the home, ranging in age from 13 months to 7 years old.

Those charges were dropped, pending further investigation by the Skokie Police Department and the Illinois State Police child homicide unit.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also is investigating the case.

It concluded that Gary Lin Graham "is responsible for fatal child abuse," according to John Goad, the DCFS deputy director for child protection. He said an investigation is continuing into Dianna Graham's culpability in the case.

"We also want to continue to explore the possibility that other children in the home might have been harmed," Goad said.